Big Push For Participatory Development
The Canada-China Project in Shanxi
The Canada-China Integrated Rural Development Poverty Reduction Project has recently been launched in Ningxia, Gansu, Shanxi and Guizhou, four of the poorest provinces in China. Project participants include the Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA), the Mennonite Central Committee (MCC), the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Trade and Economic Cooperation (MOFTEC), the Ministry of Agriculture(MOA) and the Amity Foundation. In September 1999, Theresa Carino visited three villages in Shanxi that are part of this effort and reports on her impressions in this article.
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Farmers in Fanshan Village, Zuoquan County, speaking about their needs and hopes |
In Shanxi's Jinzhong Prefecture, 300,000 out of 3 million inhabitants live below the poverty line. This is not surprising given the inhospitable terrain. Nestled in the mountains between Shanxi and Heibei Provinces, Heshun and Zuoquan counties were guerilla bases during the Anti-Japanese War (1937-45) and part of the "liberated areas" during the Chinese Revolution. Conditions have improved since 1949 but villages have not quite shaken off their poverty. Roads leading to Fangshan, Baibei and Xin Anzhuang villages in these counties pass through narrow valleys sandwiched between steep mountains. Amazingly, apple trees, maize, millet, oats and tomatoes abound wherever strips of cultivable land can be found amidst rocks and stones, but surface soil is thin and easily washed away by heavy rains. The aridity and lack of cultivable land in these areas pose formidable obstacles to development.
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Steep mountains and rocky terrain make cultivation difficult |
Individual households will benefit
Mr. Yu Wen Youyu, Director of the Poverty Alleviation Office of Jinzhong Prefecture, who has been in his job for 13 years, said that previous government projects were designed without the people's participation. "They often fail to obtain the desired results. For instance, when we distribute funds to farmers, they are wasted on things unrelated to the projects." Village enterprises producing bricks and simple farm implements failed in the 80s due to the lack of farm-to-market roads. Farmers did not have enough education and management skills. Projects, such as afforestation, benefited the collective but did not mean more income for farmers.
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Director Yu Wen Youyu (R) and Li Gaiping (L) of Fanshang Villiage in a discussion on loans |
"The Canada-China project is different because it is based on farmers' needs. It will directly benefit the individual households, not just the collective," says Yu Wen, who is Deputy Director of the project in Shanxi Province. More important, the participatory method in development is being given a big push in this project. The approach is being used on a large scale in the four provinces of Shanxi, Guizhou, Ningxia and Gansu for the first time and involves provincial, prefectural and county level leaders.
During the Participatory Rural Appraisal (PRA) Workshop conducted by Amity in Heshun and Zuoquan counties in July and August 1999, discussions involving villagers, local leaders and officials were organized. In these interactive sessions, the farmers articulated their needs and learned how to prioritize and plan. Priorities include water catchment areas for potable water, wells and water cellars (for storing water). Villagers had many suggestions--including literacy and skills training for young wives (who have joined the village community through marriage) rather than for young single women who would eventually move out of the village after marriage.
The data collected from villagers through the participatory method has been very extensive. Ninety-six households in Zuoquan and Heshun counties have been selected as the focus of the project in its preliminary stages. Their development will be closely monitored and comparative studies made with the same households every year. Planning is being done systematically based on goals set by the people themselves.
Farmers speak up
Villagers have been encouraged to speak up. " We need water for drinking and irrigation," stressed 35-year old Li Gaiping when I asked about village needs and priorities. "We also need a school and a clinic!" chimed in her neighbors. Eight women were gathered in a circle under a tree in front of the Fanshang Village Committee office in Zuoquan County. They were eager to speak, to share their needs and their hopes. At my request, local officials kept a respectful distance, away from earshot, so the women villagers could speak freely. But I need not have worried; the women showed few inhibitions either with the local officials or me.
They were very open about their complaints and also their dreams for the future. "If I had some money," said one, " I would like to start a tailoring shop." Others wanted to rear pigs or raise cows. But money is so scarce that villagers engage in barter trade for some of their daily needs. I watched Li Gaiping exchanging a bag of corn for apples sold by a woman from another village. When I asked the women who controlled the finances in the family, they snorted, " We don't have money so there's nothing to manage and we never have to quarrel with our husbands about it!" Most of the women had "married upwards" into Fanshang Village from even poorer villages.
At the schoolhouse in Baibei Village, Heshun County, I had another discussion with 20 women. Again, they expressed the desperate need for water. The scarcity and poor quality of water has led to a high incidence of intestinal and women's diseases in the village. Farmers do their laundry in the same stagnant pool, so disease is easily transmitted. During drought, they have to buy water from other villages. In Xin Anzhuang Village, Heshun County, families spend as much as 3 RMB (40 US cents) daily to buy water from a source 5 kilometers away. When there is no drought, the main source of water is an open, polluted village pond.
Transforming attitudes
The participatory approach is beginning to make waves. Director Yu Wen was initially skeptical about the PRA Workshop. People from different social and educational backgrounds participated: technical support staff, administrators, researchers and farmers. Yu Wen could not imagine how such a mixed group of people could be trained together. After going through the workshop, he thinks it is a great experience: "Even the farmers who were illiterate raised good questions!"
During the Workshop, technical consultants and local officials had to visit villages and listen to farmers. Su Chunying from the Zuoquan Agricultural Bureau enthused, "It's a good learning experience. We learned that farmers have trouble with healthcare and in many places, need a midwife. I was very moved by a story in Guaier Township: One farmer has to travel 10 kilometers every day to fetch water. Once, after arriving home with a big bucket of water, he tripped and spilt all of it! He cried the whole day. Because water is so scarce, health conditions are very bad too."
Huangfu Suya, a researcher from the Zuoquan Education Bureau acknowledged: "The participatory method is good because it allows the farmers to express themselves. I noticed how bad conditions in schools are. Pupils have to bring their own stools from home. Schoolhouses have leaking roofs and children from three grades share the same classroom. Farmers have very little to eat. Their diet consists mainly of corn, potatoes and vegetables. They eat rice, wheat and meat only on special occasions."
Micro-credit system to be developed
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Breeding cows can bring additional income - Xu Wenchang (2nd from R), talks about her successful venture |
In all three villages I visited, the farmers' main income is from the sale of corn and potatoes. They would like to breed animals as a source of additional income but need water and the money to buy feeds. In Xin Anzhuang Village, each household owns an average of five animals (sheep, goats, pigs or cows). Forty-two-year old Xu Wenchang is an exception. She was given a loan from the poverty reduction office and used it to buy calves. She was able to repay the 2,000 RMB (US$ 250) loan in two years and now has 11 cows. After selling two cows, she has reinvested the money in more calves!
Li Gaiping of Fanshang Village is illiterate but can add, subtract and multiply rather well. She has three children but her eldest daughter, who is now 18, had to stop schooling because of poverty. "When we need cash, we borrow from our relatives," she explained. She will be able to borrow from another source in future. Developing a micro-credit system among the women is part of the project plan--so they can learn how to save for enterprises. It could lay the foundation for a village banking system or a "self-development organization" that does not yet exist.
Strengthening Amity's institutional capacity
The Amity Foundation is involved in all aspects of the Canada-China Poverty Reduction Project including planning, implementation, monitoring and evaluation. Its participation in such a major bilateral government project illustrates the growing importance of NGOs in development work in China. The project has given a higher profile to Amity both nationally and internationally and it is hoped that this will strengthen Amity's institutional capacity. Three new staff have been hired for this project and Amity is expanding its circle of consultants and technical experts. Prof. Liu Lin, an Associate Professor from the China Agriculture University, facilitated PRA Workshops in all four provinces. According to Qiu Zhong Hui, Director of Amity's Rural Development Division, Prof. Liu admits that his work has continually improved because of the constant feedback from Amity staff. Workshop sessions are interactive, a stark contrast to the top-down lecture-style approach that is prevalent in China. The sessions have benefited not only Amity staff but also experts, local officials, leaders and farmers.
The project's participatory approach and Amity's involvement is expected to ensure greater accountability and transparency in its implementation. Director Yu Wen speaks glowingly of the dedication and sincerity of Amity staff he has encountered. According to him, "This project will succeed because it has people's participation. Moreover, the key in poverty alleviation work is: Yao dui remin you ganqing (You must empathize with the people.) Amity staff have lots of it!"
Theresa Carino
